


Zoro the green moss monster

by lelepandewritium



Category: One Piece
Genre: I Don't Even Know, I'm Bad At Tagging, M/M, adorable boys okay, all-the-things Zoro, jealous Zoro, okay, protective Zoro, zolu
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-19
Updated: 2015-05-27
Packaged: 2018-03-24 18:27:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 11,339
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3779296
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lelepandewritium/pseuds/lelepandewritium
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>5 times Zoro was jealous and protective over Luffy.</p><p>And one time Luffy was.</p><p>That is literally it okay. It'll be different people and I'll be adding tags as I write each new chapter so.</p><p>Enjoy!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter one: Boa Hancock

**Author's Note:**

  * For [askzoroaboutluffy/crazycookiemaniac](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=askzoroaboutluffy%2Fcrazycookiemaniac).



> WELP, BE WARNED THAT THIS IS GAY. ULTRA GAY. JUST FYI.
> 
> There will be no pron because nyeh I don't want to ruin this cute mess with it. I might make a separate thing with some pron if I feel like it and if that's what everyone wants. =3
> 
> If you have any feedback that would be GREAT and I dunno if you ever wanna just chat me up I'm down, just drop me a message here or we can chat on tumblr, mine is thefujoshitorulethemall.
> 
> ANYWHO, I'm working on this thing for a very lovely artist that drew me a zolu thing involving a jealous Zoro and it's just so great and I wanted to do this for them because they deserve it and wow just i can go on forever. ANYWAYS, I'll end up applying the scene of the art piece on the 5th chapter of this! Look forward to it I guess and go LOOK AT THEIR ART ON TUMBLR. askzoroaboutluffy. Go just go.
> 
> I OWN NOTHING SO YAH. OKAY. ENJOY.

“OOOOOOH!”

A single eye blinked open slowly, emerging from sleep with ears ringing from the force of his captain’s excited yell.

“IT’S HANCOCK’S SHIP! OOOOOOOOIIIIIIIIIII!!! OVER HEEEEERE!”

Sitting up slowly, Zoro blinked the blurriness out of his eyes before yawning, turning in the direction of Luffy’s voice and raising a single eyebrow. Hancock? Wasn’t that the pirate that had helped out Luffy?

…...Wasn’t that the pirate Luffy had said wanted to marry him?

Before even he knew it, he was already a single step behind Luffy, looking over his captains smaller form towards the large ship heading in their direction. He could tell that there was a rather large gathering of...women, on the ships deck. They were all waving and almost all of them were shrieking out their delight at seeing his captain.

Ugh.

Shrieking women.

He really didn’t need another Nami anywhere close to his vicinity.

But, they did help his captain when he couldn’t so...he’d tolerate them as long as required.

This was for Luffy after all.

Sighing softly, he straightened up and moved beside his captain, respectfully staying an inch or two behind him as the ship full of shrieking women finally settled beside their own, much smaller ship. Everything would be okay as long as Luffy was in his line of vision. 

\--------------

He couldn’t find his captain anywhere.

Luffy just disappeared into thin air as soon as the kuja pirates (some of them anyways, they didn’t all fit on their small ship) boarded. Zoro tried not to let his protective Luffy-Luffy-gotta-find-my-captain-Luffy instincts kick in. He usually just ended up cutting anything that got in his way and...well, he couldn’t do that here.

Growling under his breath, he glared at any Kuja pirate that tried to get near him or touch him. He’d let a few of them try in the beginning, but after the first three pulled on his skin until it was red and stinging, he’d refused any further advancement from any of the others. 

A familiar sounding “uwooOOOOOOO!” reached his ears, and Zoro couldn’t help but roll his eyes and grimace. Of course the perv cook was enjoying this. Swirly brow was living his dream right now no doubt. 

Glancing at the area he heard the cooks voice coming from, he saw the man dancing from woman to woman, handing out drinks and pastries with a gross, pervy smile on his face and hearts in his eyes.

Ugh, stupid shit cook.

Zoro continued on his way after confirming that Luffy wasn’t with them, his frown deepening at that fact. Oh well, he’d look on some other part of the ship.

After swerving and dodging a good amount of grabby hands, he made it to the quarterdeck and glanced around, his one eye locking on to Robin and Nami chatting with a concernedly large portion of the Kuja pirate woman. He wasn’t sure the Sunny could take carrying so many people for too long. But, well, he has yet to hear Franky complain, and if he isn’t saying anything then he must have faith that Sunny would be alright.

He’d trust his nakama at the moment, but if he so much as heard a creak coming from Sunny, he was going to start kicking some people overboard. And it’s not going to be his crew-mates.

…Well, maybe Sanji.

Huffing, he strolled past the chattering girls, ignoring Robin’s eyes following his movements. That woman is even more trouble than Nami. He’s seen those eyes on walls when he and Luffy are...ahem, spending time with each other. It creeps him out to no end and he knows that she knows that.

Shrugging off his discomfort, he headed towards the kitchen, anxiety beginning to settle low in his belly. Having all these people on board, other pirates at that, with his captain out of his line of vision didn’t sit well with him. He was first mate damn it. Luffy was his captain. It’s his job to protect him.

But how could he protect if he wasn’t with the man?! 

Stepping up to the kitchen door, Zoro opened it and peeked inside, a small groan escaping him when he didn’t find Luffy in there. Brook, Usopp and Franky were in there however, keeping another portion of the Kuja pirates entertained with music, dances, and cheap tricks.

Zoro didn’t really care.

Gritting his teeth, Zoro closed the kitchen door and stomped his way over to the medical room, almost slamming the door open only to see Chopper treating a few scratched up Kuja pirates.

He had half a mind to yell out his frustrations, but he held it in.

Before Chopper could even ask him what was wrong, he stomped back out and outright ran towards the crows nest, climbing his way up and through the door in just a few short seconds.

Finally, finally, his eye landed on Luffy’s colorful clothes, familiar straw hat, and radiant, perfect smile.

But as soon as the anxiety he was feeling began slipping away, it came back three times as hard as his eye connected with the eyes of the kuja pirates captain.

Boa Hancock's eyes. 

A shiver went down his spine, but it wasn’t desire. It wasn’t want or need or anything of the sort. It was...well, not quite revulsion, but not indifference either. Perhaps somewhere in between. To him, she wasn’t a goddess. She wasn’t beautiful. She was cold.

Her eyes asked for blood and death and pain. Not to herself, no.To him. He could both see it and feel it. 

She didn’t want him there and he knew why too.

The side of her body was completely against Luffy’s. Every small movement would result in their skin brushing against the others. At a second glance at where they were sitting, he noticed that Luffy was a few feet away from where he would normally sit when up in the crows nest. He’d no doubt tried to scoot away from the pirate captainess, but she just scooted right back up beside him.

A harsh, burning rage filled up his chest, a not-so-friendly growl trying to roar out from him, but he held it back in favor of sending the captainess a cold look of his own.

After fully climbing back into the crows nest, he turned his eye back over to his captain, his deep frown slipping away into his normal, default expression and his stare regaining some warmth at the smile being directed at him.

The smile that was always just for him.

God, he loved that smile. It always reached Luffy’s eyes, those dark brown orbs filling with what he knew was love. They were so open and trusting and god. Don’t even get him started on the smile. It was just so...Luffy. And he adored Luffy. He loved Luffy. There was nothing about Luffy that was in-perfect in his eyes.

He even loved when Luffy tackled him with his gomu gomu no rocket. It hurt, but was completely worth it.

“Zoro? Ne, Zoro, you okay? Are you going off to your own mystery land? Shishishi! Zooooorooooo!”

Snapping back to attention, he fully looked at a now intensely amused Luffy, surprised to see that he was already in front of the two captains and was just staring off into space. Into Luffy space. 

...He’s been spending too much time with his captain.

Snorting softly, he grinned down at his captain, the first upturn of his lips that he’s had ever since breakfast that morning.

“Aye, captain. I’m fine. I just wondered where you’d wandered off to, that’s all.”

Before Zoro could stop himself, his hand reached out and brushed a lock of hair away from Luffy’s eyes, knuckles gently gliding down the side of his face.

This was a habit he’d picked up not too long ago, greeting Luffy this way every morning including when at least an hour of separation had past.

He wasn’t needy.

Shut up.

After pulling his hand away, he didn’t even bother glancing at the captainess, content to have Luffy’s attention on him at the moment.

But then, then, the bi-ahem...the pirate captainess, got the nerve to push herself even more against Luffy, her large chest practically right against Luffy’s face.

A vein popped out on Zoro’s forehead, a growl really slipping out of him as he turned his eye on her and glared as harshly as he possibly could.

And of course, she wasn’t even paying attention. She was too occupied in blushing and stammering and almost begging for Luffy’s attention.

It annoyed him that all his captain did was laugh, indulging her every question and concern. 

Sighing, he plopped down next to his captain, close enough to allow their shoulders to gently brush together.

Oh well, he’d get attention later. The other pirate crew wouldn’t stay too much longer, They did have their own business to attend to, and he wasn’t too keen on having them aboard the Sunny much longer.

He leaned his head back against the glass of the crows nest, eyes closing as he focused more on his captains chatter than Hancock’s higher pitched and whiny one.

As he started to doze off, his hand twitched a bit as he felt something slip in to it.

Smiling softly, he relaxed further, linking his fingers with Luffy’s as their hands safely hid away between their thighs, away from Hancock’s piercing gaze.


	2. Chapter 2: Bartolomeo the Cannibal

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay! Here's the second installment of my fic! The third one will be up...possibly on the 21st. I'll try for tomorrow, but it's more likely that it'll be up on Tuesday.
> 
> Anywho! Enjoy! Feedback is always appreciated! OwO

There was cheering in the air. Laughter, tears, pain filled screams from wounds and the loss of loved ones.The battle in Dressrosa, against Doflamingo, had been hard. For everyone. Citizens, soldiers, tourists and pirates alike. Blood painted the streets along with the bodies who were once lively the day before. 

But most looked past that. They still mourned, of course they did. Everything they’ve grown to know as truth was all a lie. They were betrayed; they were merely toys to Doflamingo. A good portion of them literally were.

But now, Doflamingo was defeated. He was gone. Dead. Along with all of his makeshift “family”.

They all had their king back, they could all restart their lives and heal again. It would once more be a slow process, but they’d grow past it again, just like they had before. This wouldn’t break them. They refused to let it break them.

Zoro looked down at the gathered crowd, gaze vigilant as the final strings of adrenaline pumped through his veins. There was no longer any threats, none that he could deal with at the moment anyways. All the pirates and marines in the area could be considered threats, but at the moment, they were at a truse.

Sighing, he relaxed his stance, putting his swords back in their scabbards and resting an arm over their hilts. 

The corner of his lips lifted up into a soft smile. They won.

He’d had no doubt in his mind that they would. His nakama were the best there was. And, yeah, fine, he’d admit that the love cook applied to that too. He was pretty strong.

But none of them could really touch Luffy’s level. Of course, he’s fought on even ground with Luffy before but...if they were ever to REALLY fight each other...he knows that Luffy would win. There was no doubt in his mind that Luffy would wipe the floor with him if the decision to really fight ever came.

With a final glance at the group of people below him, he began walking towards the direction he last saw his captain. He wanted to see Luffy and make sure the idiot wasn’t bouncing around while bleeding out. It wouldn’t do to have his captain suddenly collapse from blood loss. He’d already experienced that once, he wasn’t keen on having it happen again.

After about 15 minutes of walking, he mentally decided that he was going to take a little stroll first. No, it wasn’t cuz he was lost okay?

He just...needed to clear his head a little. That’s all. 

After around an hour of frustrating dead ends and paths leading him towards where he’d already walked, he heard the ever reassuring laughter of his captain coming from behind what used to have been a rather fancy looking sidewalk. 

Smiling to himself, he confidently walked towards him, his stride not even hinting at how he had lost his way. All the streets were broken and houses were hanging up in the air upside down, could you really blame him for getting a tiny bit lost? 

Turning the corner, his eyes immediately zeroed in on his captain. More specifically, his captains leg. A green monster that WASN’T him was latched on to that leg.

Zoro almost immediately saw red.

No one got that close to his captain’s privates but HIM dammit.

Stomping over to his smiling Captain, he ignored the happy ring of “ZORO!” that he always adored and responded to, instead choosing to move around him and reach down, grabbing the stuttering and shaking form of Bartolomeo and tossing him a few feet away, the pressure of his haki surrounding him.

Of course, this only seemed to turn the younger pirate on to him. 

Grimacing, he ignored the pirates groveling, crying and odd facts, turning his back on him and looking at Luffy, eye raking up and down his form to look for wounds that needed to be treated. Once satisfied, his small smile returned and he reached up to greet Luffy like he always does, brushing a bit of hair out of his eyes and running his knuckles across his cheek.

This time though, instead up pulling his hand away, he shifted it until he was cupping Luffy’s cheek, lifting the young captains face until they were looking eye to eyes.

“Hey…” he muttered gruffly, a softness in his eyes that he didn’t normally have. “You okay? Not gunna kick the bucket on us are ya?” 

Luffy laughed, the familiar “shishishi!” surrounding Zoro and easing away any lingering nerves from the hard battle they’d experienced today. 

“Yeah! I’m fine Zoro! I kicked that Mingo’s ass!” A wide, beaming smile that definitely required gum gum powers appeared on Luffy’s face, and Zoro couldn’t help but widen his own smile at that.

“Yeah, you did kick his ass. I knew you would captain, you are the strongest out of all of us of course.”

“Shishishi! Yosh!” Luffy smiled mischievously, hopping up onto Zoro and sitting on his shoulders proudly, looking like everything was right with the world and that it was a common occurrence for him to be sitting on his first mates shoulders.

And, well, it kind of was.

Grumbling out protests that didn’t quite match the contentment in his eyes, he tossed and turned a few times, trying half heartedly to dislodge Luffy from his shoulders before quickly giving up. Huffing, he reached up and loosely grabbed onto Luffy’s ankles, his thumbs gently moving in circular motions across the rubbery skin and bone. 

Turning, he was startled to find Bartolomeo still crouching at where he’d thrown him, tears streaming out of the mans eyes like geizures. 

Ugh, he had forgotten that the pirate was even there.

“UWOOOAAAAHHHHHH Z-Z-ZOWO-SEMPAAAAAAI, LUFWY-SEMPAAAAAAAI! I-I’M SO HAPPY TO BE ABLE TO SEE TH-THE CAPTAIN AND F-F-FIRST MAAATE OF THE STRAW HATS I-INTERACT TOGETHEEER. I-I’M SO HAAPPPPEEHHHHH!”

Zoro blinked down at the man, raising an eyebrow in annoyance as even more tears started to fly out of the mans eyes. Was it even possible to cry this much? How is he not dead from dehydration or something?

Whatever, it’s not his problem. He’d leave the other pirate in a ditch for even touching Luffy but...well, he’d helped. And Robin and Usopp seemed to like the guy so...no touchy. At least not I-am-going-to-murder-you-one-piece-at-a-time touchy. He would totally throw the guy off of a 10 story building though. If he didn’t live then that means that he should have been focusing more on training and getting stronger. 

His fingers twitched at that thought, but Luffy immediately slapped him out of that train of thought by...literally slapping him. Upside the head.

“Zoro! C’mon Zoro! Let’s go on a victory run! Shishishi!”

Zoro groaned, glaring up at Luffy.

“Victory run?! You want me to run around all over the place with you on my shoulders?!”

“Well of course Zoro! I beat up Mingo so OBVIOUSLY I get to be carried around! C’moooooooonnnnnnnnnn Zooooooorooooooooo! Pleeeeease???”

Luffy looked down at Zoro, pouting adorably down at him.

“It’s a captains request!”

Zoro blinked up at Luffy, staring at him with his one good eye. It was a request, not an order. But, well...it was a request from his captain. As first mate, who was he to deny that request?

“...Aye, Captain.”

Sighing, he gathered up all his pride and started running through the broken up streets of Dressrosa, cheers going up around them as he focused on moving through the most crowded areas.

He completely denied when people asked or questioned his rosy cheeks. It was just hot okay!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Good? I hope it was good. Anywho, leave me a kudos or a comment if you enjoyed it! I'll have the next chapter up ASAP! 
> 
> The next character guest starring in my fic shall be Law!
> 
> IT IS DECIDED


	3. Chapter 3: Trafalgar D. Water Law

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HERE'S THE THIRD INSTALLMENT WHOO
> 
> I DID THIS WHEN I SHOULD HAVE BEEN SLEEPING
> 
> EEEEEEHHHHHHHHH
> 
> Oh well. Enjooooooy!

Everyone’s wounds were all treated and on their way to fully healing.

Everyone was happy.

Everyone was alive.

That was the most important part, everyone was ALIVE.

But this was the straw hat crew, they’d all lived through the unimaginable, so why wouldn’t they survive this small wave in their path?

The only one that was a little worse for wear was Law.

But, he had gotten shot multiple times, plus he was also stabbed, beaten (both physically and emotionally), and tossed around.

He’d suffered the most injury out of all of them.

Zoro tried not to be happy about that, really, he did. He may be a “nakama” now, as Luffy put it, but he wasn’t a NAKAMA, you feel him? He wasn’t...one of them. Not trully. Not like Nami, Usopp, Sanji (grudgingly), Chopper, Vivi (she counts dammit!), Robin, Franky, and Brook were. At least not yet. 

They hadn’t spent a long enough time with Law yet. At least Zoro hasn’t. But from the vibes he got from all the others, they more or less agreed with him. Law was an okay guy, but he wasn’t fully part of their group just yet. 

He would be though, Zoro could feel it.

Zoro could tell by the way Luffy acted around the man, how he touched without any hesitation and laughed with his full body when he deemed that the stoic man had done something amusing. 

Smiling slightly, he leaned back against Sunny’s railing, closing his eyes and soaking up the familiar and calming laughter of his nakama and the gentle swaying from Sunny as she carried them towards Zou, where Law’s crew was waiting for them. 

Sunny seemed to be happy too, there was an aura around them all that was warm, like the first rays of sunlight that touched your skin after a chilly night. They all just instinctively knew that it belonged to Sunny, now understanding that Sunny was always with them and that she took care of them all in her own way. They understood that this was her telling them that she loved them all.

Zoro opened his eyes as he felt the presence of his captain getting closer to him, his thoughts moving away from Sunny for the moment so that he could put his attention on Luffy.

A wider smile came across his face as he saw what Luffy had in his hands. It was a few bottles of sake, no doubt stolen right from under Sanji’s nose. A chuckle tore out from his chest, forceful enough to make his shoulders twitch with each huff of laughter. When the cook found out that some of the bottles were missing, he was no doubt going to throw a fit and immediately accuse him, but he didn’t really care at the moment.

Sitting up, he happily accepted the three bottles that Luffy handed to him, a warmth swirling around in his chest as the rubber man plopped down on the grass beside him, sides pressed together softly. 

“Thank you captain. You know swirly brows is going to throw a fit when he finds out these are missing right?” Ignoring his own words, Zoro popped two of the bottles open, taking a swig from one and handing the other to Luffy.

“Shishishi! I know! But who cares? I’m the captain! I can take what I want!” Luffy’s words came out confident, but he looked around himself regardless, feeling like Sanji would pop out from nowhere and kick him for his words. “...Besides! We do this all the time anyways and get in trouble every time. It’s not like we’re gunna stop Zoro.” He smiled widely and shoved Zoro a bit, his signature laugh slipping out.

Snorting, Zoro nodded and shoved Luffy back. “Aye captain. I know. Now shut up and drink your sake, I don’t share with just anyone you know.” He raised an eyebrow at Luffy, grinning in amusement. 

It was true though, he didn’t share. Not even with any of his crewmates. Normally he’d tell them to go and get their own sake, but he never said that to Luffy. It wasn’t in him to deny his captain anything, not even his favorite thing in the world. 

Laughing, Luffy took a big swig of sake, some of the liquid slipping down from the corner of his mouth as he sputtered due to the bitter taste. He’d forgotten that Zoro liked to drink some really strong stuff!

“Puhah! EUGH! Zooorooooo, why do you like this bitter stuff so much! You should drink the sweeter ones! Y’know, like the grape ones! Those are really good! ESPECIALLY WHEN YOU DRINK THEM WITH MEAT! I want meat Zoroooooo!”

Zoro threw his head back and laughed, entire frame shaking at the ridiculousness that was his captain.

Before he could even manage to reply, a figure appeared in front of them, blocking the warm sun’s rays from reaching them. Looking up, slightly peeved at having their moment interrupted, he locked eyes with none other than Law.

Who of which had a plate of steaming meat in his hands.

“MEEEAAAAT!”

Well then, there goes his moment.

Sighing, he watched in amusement as Luffy lunged towards the plate of meat, apparently not caring that his momentum sent him crashing into Law and knocking the both of them over.

Miraculously however, he’d managed to grab onto the meat plate and keep it suspended above their flailing forms. 

This caught Zoro’s attention. The way Luffy was moving on top of Law and the way Law moved underneath him was just...unsettling. He didn’t even care that Luffy was laughing and Law was curing at him.

With his eyebrow twitching, he reached out and grabbed the back of Luffy’s shirt, pulling him off of Law and seating him back beside himself, though not as close as before. There was extra person here now so he couldn’t indulge. 

Thankfully, Luffy seemed not to care, seeing as he was currently shoving a large piece of meat inside of his mouth.

Law looked more thankful than suspicious, thankfully.

Huffing, he stared blankly as Law got himself back together, shifting until he was sitting comfortably on the grass in front of them.

Glaring at Luffy, Law huffed and shook his head, the corner of his lips twitching before settling back down. With a quick sigh, he began to say what he had come here for. “Straw hat-ya, it really wasn’t necessary for you to jump me like that. I was going to give you the meat anyways.”

Rolling his eyes, he kept going. “Anyways, I just wanted to...to thank you, for helping me back there. I know it wasn’t what we’d created an alliance for, but you still went along with my selfish wish and...well, thank you, straw hat-ya. You’re an honest guy, which, honestly, isn’t common for a pirate. You’re very odd and quirky but...it works for you I suppose. I can’t imagine you acting any differently anymore.”

Law gave Luffy one of his rare, soft smiles, a warmth in him that he normally only felt when he was surrounded by his own crew.

Luffy laughed, spitting out pieces of meat as he did so. “Shishishishishi! No more thank you’s! You’re my nakama now, of course I’m going to help you do something you want! Neh, Zoro?”

Zoro looked at Luffy, rolling his eyes at his messy face. “Aye, Captain. He’s right though Trafalgar, we all help each other, you’re no exception.”

Looking back at his captain, he was about to reach out to wipe some of the mess off of his face, but a hand that wasn’t his own beat him to it. 

Twitching in surprise, he looked at the hand that was busily wiping away meat pieces from Luffy’s cheeks and meat juice from the corners of his lips, following it to an arm covered in black fabric, than a shoulder, a neck, and finally a face. Trafalgar’s face.

A surprising anger shot through him, and before he could do anything stupid, he forced himself to lift his bottle of sake to his lips and chugged the whole thing down.

Why was everyone always touching Luffy?!

Glaring at Trafalgar, he waited with all the patience he could muster for Law to finish, say a few more words, and finally leave. 

Unlike himself, as soon as Law had gone away into Choppers medical room, a place he liked to spend his time in, Zoro reached out and grabbed Luffy around the waist, pulling the smaller form onto his lap and clamping his arms around him.

Luffy let out a small sounds when he was moved, but all he did was snuggle back against Zoro’s chest and continue eating. 

Zoro was glad for this, since he didn’t really want Luffy to see him seething with, yes, he admits it, jealousy. Ducking his head down, he pressed a chaste kiss against Luffy’s temple, taking comfort in the action and Luffy’s small hum of satisfaction. 

The anger was quickly slipping away into the warmth he’d had before, and he all but forgot about Law once Luffy handed him a half eaten piece of meat.

Snorting, he accepted the offering for what it was.

Love.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next will be...uh, I'm not sure actually. I'LL DECIDE SOON ENOUGH. GUESS IT'LL BE A SURPRISE.


	4. Chapter 4: Blackleg Sanji

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WELP, this one took me slightly longer to get out.
> 
> I wasn't entirely sure who should be next but I finally decided on Sanji.
> 
> Also, this chapter is more based around the protective side or Zoro instead of the jealous side. It's about time I got around to that part anyways so, here you go!
> 
> ENJOY
> 
> COMMENTS AND KUDOS ARE ALWAYS WELCOME

“SANJI! MEEEAAAT! MEATMEATMEAT! SANJI, I WANT MEANT!”

“SHUT YOUR TRAP SHITTY GOMU, WAIT UNTIL LUNCH, IT’S ALMOST DONE!”

Zoro sighed, rolling his eyes at the familiar sight of Luffy whining at Sanji for meat and said shitty cook denying it to him. 

Stupid swirly brows, he should just give Luffy what he wants. The man knows that the captain won’t quit begging until he gets it. Or steals it. Luffy is a pirate after all, he’s not above stealing. 

Watching the two with a critical eye, Zoro grinned in amused anticipation as Sanji turned his back on Luffy, the gomu gomu boy taking his opportunity and darting a stretched arm over towards the prepared pile of meat and snatching a leg bone with an angry declaration of “FINE, I’LL WAIT TILL LUNCH THEN, STUPID SANJI!”

Zoro freely grinned as his captain stomped out of the kitchen, clearly fighting off his own laughter at Sanji’s irritated grumbling as he left. 

He’s sure that Sanji noticed Luffy’s theft, based on the twitching of his cheeks, and honestly, Luffy’s rubber body isn’t very stealthy. 

Whenever his body stretched, it always sent out a faint sound that all members of the crew had grown accustomed to and were able to act accordingly to it even when chaos was happening around them. It was a skill that they quickly learned. It was a matter of life and pain for them. 

Standing up, he reached towards an unopened bottle of sake, turning his glaring eye towards the cook as soon as he felt the others burning eyes on him.

Shit cook.

He can grab sake when he wants goddamn it.

“Shitty Marimo! Stop drinking all the sake, what if the ladies want some later and there’s none left because of you?!”

“Shut up perv-cook! If it’s gone then it’s gone, they can drink something else!” Zoro grunted, turning and heading towards the exit of the kitchen. Before he could get out however, his senses immediately picked up a threat, making him draw Wado and expertly block one of the cooks powerful kicks. He was very smug to note that while his own arm didn’t shake from the force, Sanji’s leg had a slight, almost unnoticeable quiver to it. 

“Done yet dumbass cook?”

Sanji growled, pushing down harder on the sword before doing a backflip back to his cooking station, popping a fresh cigarette between his lips and lightning it. “Get out of my kitchen shitty swordsman, and don’t bother coming in here for lunch!”

Zoro scoffed, putting Wado back in her sheath and heading out the door with HIS sake. 

He didn’t really care that the cook was banning him from the kitchen for lunch, it’s happened often enough and he’d always get food in the end anyways.

Not from the cook, of course not. Besides, he wouldn’t accept anything from the dartboard brow after that!

No, it was always the rest of the crew that would bring him food. They’d all work together on distracting Sanji so that one of them could swipe food from the table and put it on an extra plate, away from Sanji’s gaze. 

One of them would leave the kitchen earlier than the rest, changing it up every time this happened so that Sanji wouldn’t suspect anything, and they’d drop the food off to him at wherever he was resting.

Nami would always roll her eyes at him and call him stupid, but she’d smile in the end and pull out a hidden (don’t ask how she hid it, he still had no idea considering that she hardly wore any clothes) bottle of sake. They’d sit together to chat and Zoro would begrudgingly be forced to share the sake or else his debt be raised. 

Usopp would frown and tell him to ease up on the fighting, sitting down and keeping Zoro company with chatter about his plants and occasionally his outrageous stories about what he’d dealt with back on the island with the huge bugs. 

Vivi, back when she was traveling with them, would smile at him and hand him his food, chuckling at his always grumpy expression and just sit with him, humming some tune from a song she would often listen to back at Alabasta. He never did get the chance to ask her what it was called. When they met again, he would make sure that question was the first thing out of his mouth. 

Chopper would hand him the plate with a worried expression on his face, lecturing him about the sustenance that his body required and that it wasn’t healthy to fight with your fellow crewmate. The small doctor would always fall asleep at some point during his lecture, leaning against Zoro’s side. 

Robin would smile secretly at him, creating a creepy chair made from her own arms and sit there with one of her books. She’d softly read out loud, creating a calming atmosphere around Zoro as he ate his food. When he was done, he would eventually nod off to sleep, her soft words continuing even as he slept, up to when he woke up.

Franky would always come up to him with a “OW! ZORO-BRO, I BROUGHT YOU SOME SUUUUUUPER GOOD FOOD!” Zoro would always wince at his loud words, but he’d grin up at the man regardless and chat with him through his meal. Once he was done, he’d always wander off towards some part of Sunny and help Franky upgrade or maintain it. He’s always given simple tasks that even he can’t mess up, but recently he’s gotten better at doing everything so Franky has been carefully instructing him on slightly more difficult tasks. Zoro still prefers carrying around heavy pieces of machinery for Franky though; he enjoys getting a workout.

Brook, well, Brook would bring him his food and play a few tunes for him, occasionally cracking out a joke or two until he was done eating. Once he was, he would calmly step a bit away from Zoro and get into a fighting stance, making Zoro grin over at him and get into a stance of his own. The next hour would proceed with sparring between the two of them, and more often than not they’d draw a crowd of their nakama, who would in turn cheer for the both of them or yell at them to be careful with Sunny. 

They were both always careful not to damage Sunny. She would always sail more smoothly in these instances, which they believed meant that she didn’t want them to stumble as they sparred and hurt themselves because of her. When they were done sparring, they always heard a slight creak coming from her, like she had let out a relieved sigh at finding neither of them injured.

Luffy, Luffy would come out of the kitchen loud and boisterous, shouts always following his exit along with laughter. The plate that he brought down was always made up of meat, which Zoro expected, and he’d plop down next to Zoro, their sides touching, and set the plate down on their connected thighs. They’d both eat off of the plate, the majority of the food always going to Zoro at Luffy’s insistence, and chat between themselves, grinning and laughing at each others stupidity. 

Honestly, Zoro really didn’t mind when the cook banned him from going to the kitchen. He quite enjoyed it actually. 

Smiling to himself, he walked towards Luffy’s still body, perched atop Sunny’s head as was a common place for him. Heading towards him, he carefully maneuvered his way around Sunny’s mane, settling himself behind his captain and pulling the smaller body between his legs and against his chest.

He hummed, popping his bottle open as his captain wiggled backwards, getting comfortable while contentedly chewing on the leg bone. He wasn’t about to get anymore from under Sanji’s nose, but he was content for now until lunch was prepared in the next hour or so. 

“Did Zoro get banned from lunch again?” Luffy tilted his head back at an impossible angle, obviously using his gomu abilities to get a clear look at Zoro’s face. 

Zoro shrugged, taking a swig of his sake before looking down at Luffy and smiling at him, leaning down to brush a small kiss against his captain nose. “Yeah, will I see you today?”

Luffy grinned at Zoro, raising his arms up to wrap around Zoro’s neck and keep his face close to his own. “Yeah! It’s my turn this time! I’ll bring Zoro a lot of yummy meat today too, shishishi!” 

Chuckling, Zoro pressed another kiss against the small scar under Luffy’s eye, complying with his captains want and keeping his face close to Luffy’s own. “Aye, captain, I know you will.”

Zoro settled as comfortably as he could, Luffy never bothering to let Zoro sit back up as they both trailed off into a comfortable silence, enjoying the calm of having the other there with them.

It wasn’t until a half hour of sitting like that passed them by that Sanji announced that lunch was ready, Nami and Robin’s plates already set at their places at the table. 

Zoro huffed at the cooks annoying voice, releasing a now twitchy Luffy and smiling at the wet smack of lips that hit his scarred eye and watching as his captain catapulted over Sunny’s mane and back onto the ship, calling out his joy at lunch being ready. 

Sighing, Zoro straightened back up, jerking his neck around to get rid of the annoying crick that had appeared in his neck after having it bent down without moving for a good 40 minutes or so. 

Smiling to himself regardless of the ache, he leant back and settled for a short nap, trusting that Sunny would keep steady enough to not tilt him off her head while he rested.

About 35 minutes later, he was groggily shaken from sleep due to a loud, hysterical sounding laughter piercing the air around him. 

He immediately recognized it as his captain’s laugh.

Confused, he stood up, prepared to move back onto the ship, but Luffy’s cry of “S-SANJI! STAHAHAHAP! I- I CAAAAAN’T!” made him freeze where he was.

Scowling, he quickly jumped over Sunny’s mane, eye zeroing in on Luffy’s flailing form on the ground and Sanji’s hunched over form right above him.

The ero-cook was TICKLING him. 

“No way Luffy! This is your punishment! You can’t just take an entire plate of meat and sneak off with it! What if the ladies wanted more meat huh?” Despite the cooks angered tone, there was a delighted grin covering the mans face, obviously taking satisfaction at rendering his captain into a flailing mess, even if it did require tickling. 

“I-I KNOHOHOOOW! LEMMEGO SANJIIIIIII! S-SORRYYHHHAHAHAHA!”

Zoro watched as his captain begged breathlessly, tears streaming from the corners of his eyes as the laughter made it difficult for him to breath.

Even while knowing that his captain was completely safe, that Sanji would never unreasonably hurt his captain, that Luffy was as safe with Sanji as when he was with him, Zoro couldn’t help but feel a slight panic in his chest at how breathless Luffy was.

It brought to mind every instance that Zoro would pull Luffy out of the sea, panic raging through him every time his captain would cough out mouthfuls of water and gasp air into his water clogged lungs desperately.

Striding over with quick steps, Zoro semi-lightly pushed Sanji’s side with his foot, making the unsuspecting man lose his balance and topple over onto his side with a surprised squawk. 

Reaching down, he grabbed onto Luffy, ignoring the cooks angered sputtering and not even bothering to dodge or block the kick aimed at him, far too focused on the gasping Luffy at the moment.

As soon as the kick connected to him, pain flared through his shoulder and he was brought completely to his knees, his crouched form crumbling under the harsh kick and a groan tearing out of his throat. 

Silence surrounded him after that, not that he cared very much. His eye was still locked onto Luffy, who of which was staring at him knowingly and apologetically. 

Quickly regaining his breath, Luffy sat up and enveloped Zoro in a hug, sending a sharp look Sanji’s way, an order clearly spoken in his eyes.

That look immediately snapped Sanji out of his shock. Nodding in understanding, he turned and walked back towards the kitchen, turning to get one final look at the pair.

Luffy had sat up onto his knees, bringing Zoro’s head towards his chest and holding it there, head tilted down far enough so that he could whisper against Zoro’s ear. Zoro could only wrap his arms around Luffy, drowning in the young man’s warm embrace and loving words. 

Huffing, Sanji turned his head away and walked back into his kitchen. That moment was just between them, so he would have to keep the others in the kitchen for a while longer.

“Alright, who’s ready for some dessert? I made some chocolate cake.”

His words were met with happy cheers, strong chatter starting back up between them. Smiling to himself, he started preparing a slice for everyone. 20 minutes should be enough for the marimo to pull himself back together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Omg OKAY SO I KNOW WHOSE NEXT I SWEAR, but I'm having a bit of trouble writing this chapter out.
> 
> I've had to restart it and delete things so many times and it's just...
> 
> This one is difficult to get out jeez.
> 
> I've been working on it, I'll try and get it out ASAP!


	5. Chapter 5: Sabo, Chief of Staff of the Revolutionary army

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I FINALLY GOT IT DONE
> 
> AND IT'S SO LONG JESUS CHRIST
> 
> I'M SORRY IT TOOK SO LONG
> 
> So this is the chapter that actually includes that scene from the piece of art I told you about in the beginning. Seriously, go look them up if you haven't already!
> 
> SO WORTH IT!
> 
> Anywho, please enjoy!

None of them were expecting it. Least of all Luffy.

It was a pretty normal day. The sun was shining, a nice wind was blowing, a sea monster showed up (which they ate not much later), Luffy was asking for meat (and being denied said meat), Zoro was lifting his weights, Usopp blew a few things up, Nami yelled at everyone, Sanji kicked Luffy out of the kitchen, Chopper was making some of his rumble balls, Robin was reading, Franky was working on another project and Brook was cracking jokes.

A normal day.

What wasn’t normal was seeing a small ship, a dinghy like Zoro and Luffy first rode in, heading towards their ship. 

A dinghy that had fire spouting out of the back of it.

That...was odd.

Alarming really, especially since it was familiar to most of them.

The entire crew gathered together, looking out over the sea towards the fastly approaching figure.

Zoro looked over at Luffy, taking in his posture and expression. Luffy looked tense, expectant, worried, excited...there were a lot of emotions in his captain’s eyes. 

As the ship got closer to them and they were finally able to see the figure, all the negative emotions in Luffy drained out of him and all that remained was an intense joy at seeing the man waving at them.

Before any of them could stop Luffy, said captain had launched himself towards a startled Sabo, an overjoyed yell coming from the both of them as they collided.

Unfortunately, Sabo didn’t have as much balance in the dinghy as he would have liked, so he couldn’t do much as the both of them slipped over the side of the boat and fell into the water. 

The entire crew groaned, Nami holding her arms out expectantly and not even batting an eye as Zoro’s swords landed there in a heap before she heard a loud splash not even a second later. 

Zoro pushed the panic he felt in his chest to the back of his mind, focusing on swimming towards the still figures of Sabo and Luffy. There was a twinge of anger in him that Luffy had acted so recklessly, but he couldn’t really do anything about it. Besides, he would never let Luffy drown in the ocean, and he knew that the rubber man knew that as well. That’s probably why he was so careless in the first place actually.  
Finally reaching them, Zoro wrapped an arm around both figures, tightening his hold more than he usually would since he was carrying two weighed down devil fruit users this time. Gritting his teeth, he kicked his legs hard, swimming up to the surface within a few seconds and taking a deep breath as he breached the surface. 

The two figures in his arms started coughing up water, making him sigh in relief. Luffy was always fine, but the tightness in his chest never faded until he heard him breathing again. Shifting a bit, he switched Sabo over to his other arm, huffing as he waited for Sunny to maneuver closer to him and a rope ladder to be thrown down. 

Sanji came down the ladder, frowning himself as he took Sabo from Zoro’s arm and carried him to the safety of the ship. 

Zoro followed after the cook, feeling himself calm down as Luffy started to regain his senses as they exited out of the water. 

Once he was finally back on the ship, his eyes flickered over to Sabo, taking in the man’s embarrassed smile and panting breaths. He wasn’t completely steady on his feet yet, but he would be within a few minutes. 

Huffing, he walked over to the man, tossing a grinning Luffy at him and making the both of them collapse to the floor in a laughing, hugging mess. 

“Idiots! Why do devil fruit eaters have to be so reckless when it comes to the sea?!” Nami shrieked, glaring down at the pair, though her eyes stayed on Luffy since it WAS mainly his fault.

“Shishishi! Sorry Nami! I was so excited I couldn’t stop myself!” Luffy grinned up at his navigator, finding his strength again and using it to stand up without releasing Sabo from the coils of his arms. 

Sabo laughed and allowed Luffy to lift him up, keeping his own arms wrapped around his little brother. “My apologies, I couldn’t exactly stop Luffy from where I was standing.” That being said, he tapped his knuckles against Luffy’s forehead gently and frowned at him. “Oi, that was dangerous! Neither of us could swim, what if your nakama hadn’t made it in time huh?”

Luffy blinked up at Sabo in confusion, not sure exactly how to reply to that. In time? Zoro always made it in time.

“Neh? But Zoro always saves me in time?”

Sabo couldn’t help but snort down at Luffy’s genuine confusion, shaking his head slightly. Of course, Luffy had complete faith in his crewmates. How couldn’t he. 

“I understand that Luffy, but still, you should take caution. What if you’re alone next time you fall in the ocean huh? What are you going to do then huh?”

Luffy just pouted up at his brother.

“Zoro’d get me!”

Sighing, Sabo decided to leave the issue alone for now. He wasn’t going to get anywhere with Luffy. “Yeah, yeah, alright, Zoro will save you.”

Smiling, he turned to look at said crewmate, taking in the small blush on the green haired man’s cheeks and chuckling to himself. “Well Zoro, thank you for saving my brother and I from drowning. Thats actually the first time I’ve experienced the devil fruits curse.” At this he looked down at Luffy’s innocent expression with amusement, pinching the boys cheek and tugging gently. “I have you to blame for that, right Luffy?”

Zoro nodded at Sabo, acknowledging his thanks. “No problem, I couldn’t exactly let either of you drown. Who would be captain if this guy was gone?” Zoro grinned at Luffy, reaching out and ruffling his wet hair before wandering off to continue lifting his weights.

Sabo looked down at Luffy’s blinding smile as his hair was ruffled by the green haired man, biting the inside of his cheek to contain his own grin. He’d ask about this later. Or, better yet, he’d gather his own information...the fun way.

He pushed these thoughts to the back of his mind for later, focusing on greeting the other members of Luffy’s crew for the moment. 

\----------------------

A few hours had passed since he first arrived on the straw hat crews ship. Luffy was no longer by his side, having at some point been separated from him by...well, someone. Sabo wasn’t entirely sure. The past few hours had felt like a whirlwind of activity and he’d gotten turned upside down a few times. Literally. Luffy’s crewmates were pretty handsy!

Some of them anyways.

The sun was starting to go down, and with it the high energy that was once storming around the ship was starting to calm. Instead of yelling and partying like they were before, everyone was sat around chatting, some were napping, and others were enjoying a nice snack or cup of tea. 

Oddly enough, Luffy and Zoro were nowhere to be seen.

Curious, and deciding that he should conduct his research now, he carefully moved away from the front of the ship and towards the back. As he got closer, he clearly identified his little brothers humming voice.

……..Humming?

Well that was odd, he didn’t normally hear Luffy be so...quiet. Sure, he’d sit without speaking sometimes, but never for long. And he didn’t normally...hum. He’d sing sometimes too. And loudly at that.

Frowning, he winced as his heart thumped painfully inside his chest. He’d...missed so much of his little brothers life. He missed watching him grow into this big, strong man. He wasn’t a little kid anymore. He wasn’t as innocent now either. Sure Luffy was still reckless, he was still fun and outgoing, but he wasn’t innocent.

Luffy was more serious now, he was more...mature. He was quieter. 

Sabo hated that this happened. He knew that Luffy had been through a lot, and damn it, he should have been there with him! He’s the big brother! He’s supposed to protect his little brother!

But he didn’t get to do that.

Pausing, Sabo took a deep breath and shook off his regret. It wouldn’t do any good to feel this way now. It was behind them all. 

Finally reaching the back, he blinked as he caught sight of numerous weights strewn around the area, some ridiculously huge. He was surprised the ship wasn’t cracking under the weight of it all.

In the center of all of it, he found Luffy.

And Zoro actually.

He hadn’t noticed the swordsman at first.

Biting his lip, he tried not to coo at the adorable sight before him. It wouldn’t be very wise to coo at them unless he wanted a death wish.

Not that the swordsman would succeed in killing him anyways.

At the center of all the weights, Luffy was sitting cross legged, a relaxed Zoro resting his head on his lap. Luffy was humming quietly, his fingers soothingly running through the swordsman's hair.

As Sabo watched, Zoro appeared to mutter something quietly to Luffy, making the man laugh his signature “shishishi!” and lean down to rest their foreheads together. 

Honestly, Sabo didn’t even need to do anymore research. He knew right then and there that they had a special place for each other in their hearts.

But, Sabo might as well have fun with this. See which one snapped first. 

Without much warning, Sabo yelled “Luffy!” before stepping out of his little hiding place.

He bit his lip, trying desperately hard not to laugh as the swordsman sprung up from his resting position, obviously flustered at the situation and a bit ticked that it was ruined.

Luffy didn’t even budge, he just laughed at his swordsman before turning to his brother with shining eyes. “Sabo!” He launched himself at his brother, wrapping his arms around the taller man in an enthusiastic hug.

Sabo grinned, wrapping his own arms around Luffy and spinning him around once. “Hey little brother! I was looking for you, let’s sleep together tonight! Y’know, like old times!” He started dragging Luffy away, trying not to glance back at the glaring form of Roronoa Zoro. “Remember when you used to crawl into my futon with me? Those were good times!”

Sabo snickered as he heard the swordsman grunt and start lifting his weights again, only half-listening to Luffy ramble about their younger days as he dragged him to the front of the ship once more.

 

\----------------------

Zoro was getting more and more ticked off as the days went by. Sabo had been with the crew for a good week now and he’d always drag Luffy off with him every. single. day. 

Sure, he was Luffy’s brother and they didn’t see each other often. Heck, Luffy thought the guy was dead for years!

But still, whenever Zoro managed to get some time with Luffy, the revolutionary would appear out of nowhere and take the rubber captain away!

The lack of Luffy was starting to make Zoro very...irritable.

Well, according to everyone else, he was pretty bloodthirsty. 

But that was his version of being irritable okay?!

Grumbling under his breath as he lifted more weights than he usually would, he hardly batted an eye as more weight was suddenly added to one side, making him have to change the grip he had on the weights.

He continued on with his weight lifting, an angry frown on his face until he heard his favorite laugh.

Startled, he paused and turned his head to look at Luffy, who of which was perched on one of his weights. 

Almost immediately, the scowl he had on his face disappeared, a sappy looking smile replacing it in order to return the beaming one that was being directed at him. 

“Luffy” he breathed out, his heart swelling a bit . Damn, he had it bad for his captain. 

Beaming even brighter than he already was, Luffy laughed and leaned forwards, blinking wide eyes at Zoro. “Zoro! Hi, it feels like I haven’t seen Zoro in forever!”

Zoro chuckled, going back to pumping his weights, albeit a bit more slowly than before. Luffy was on top of them after all, he didn’t really want to accidentally throw his captain off. “Mmm, yeah, I know the feeling. It feels like you’ve been getting dragged away from me whenever I try to talk to you.”

He huffed, knowing that, that was exactly what was happening. Luffy’s brother was definitely dragging Luffy away from him.

Whatever, he had Luffy with him now. He’d enjoy it while he could.

“Luffy!”

FUCK!

Gritting his teeth, he paused his weight lifting once more to look over at the fastly approaching Sabo, glaring heatedly at the man.

Luffy hopped off Zoro’s weight with a smile, opening his arms to greet his brother as he normally would, but Zoro’s patience snapped right then and there.

Before Sabo could slip into those awaiting rubber arms, Zoro dropped his weights (carefully of course) and reached out, grabbing one of Luffy’s arms and tugging the man into his own arms, pressing him tightly to his chest and hissing at the revolutionary. 

Luffy let out a squawk, startled by Zoro’s actions. He blinked up at his hissing swordsman, the corners of his lips twitching up in his amusement until he wasn’t able to hold back his laughter anymore.

A tint of red began to coat Zoro’s cheeks as the laughter from Sabo and Luffy rang around him. He wasn’t about to let go of Luffy now though, no way in hell!

Still laughing, Luffy slipped his straw hat off his head and put it onto Zoro’s, completely stopping the hiss coming from the swordsman and instead making the embarrassment from the situation completely overcome Zoro.

Blushing fully now, Zoro leaned his head down and hid it against Luffy’s shoulder, grumbling as Luffy’s laughter shook his entire body.

Sabo was the first to calm down. He stood up straight, wiping the tears from the corner of his eyes. He took in the sight of his amused little brother and the embarrassed swordsman, his smile turning soft.

“Well, this past week has been fun and all but I really need to get going.”

His smile turned a bit sad as Luffy’s sharp eyes turned to him, the laughter completely gone from his face. But it was far more content now than it had been for the past 4 days. He supposed that he had the swordsman to thank for that.

Zoro was standing up straight now, having gotten control of himself again. He looked a bit silly while having the straw hat on his head, but neither he nor Luffy moved to take it off.

Looking between the two of them, Sabo smiled and brought them both into a tight hug.

“Take care of yourselves y’here? And Luffy! I don’t want to hear anymore nonsense about you recklessly launching yourself into the ocean! I’ll come after you if I do!”

He smiled, a warmth filling his chest at the “shishishi!” he got out of his brother.

While Luffy was distracted, he leaned up and whispered against Zoro’s ear, “take care of my little brother alright?”

Finally pulling back, he smiled at them both, locking eyes with Zoro and feeling a weight remove itself from his shoulders at the sincere nod he received.

Without another word, he went and leaped off of the Sunny and back onto his little dinghy. If he didn’t leave now, he didn’t know when he’d be able to pull himself away from Luffy.

The rest of the crew gathered together to watch him leave, waving and yelling out their goodbyes. Sabo laughed and waved back, biting the inside of his cheeks and keeping his tears at bay as he used his devil fruit ability to launch him away from their ship. 

Before he got too far, he heard Luffy call out to him, making him turn his head around.

“Sabo! Come back and visit us again! Whenever you want! We’ll have another party!” Luffy grinned, his arms waving crazily over his head as he watched his brother disappear. His lower lip was wobbling, but a warm hand rested against his lower back and steadied him. This wasn’t a goodbye, this was a see you later. 

Smiling, Sabo raised his arm up into the air, not exactly meaning to shoot out fire but not minding it all the same. He didn’t exactly trust his voice right now, but he knew that Luffy would understand.

This was their silent promise.

They’d see each other again soon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter...wasn't my favorite honestly. I feel like I could have done it a lot better but it was taking me so long to make it. So sorry!
> 
> I may or may not redo it at some point, but you'll have to deal with this messy thing for now.
> 
> Kudos and comments are always appreciated if you enjoyed it! 
> 
> They make me feel nice =3
> 
> ANYWAYS, THE NEXT CHAPTER IS...BASICALLY ALREADY WRITTEN.
> 
> IN MY HEAD.
> 
> SO IT SHOULDN'T TAKE LONG AT ALL.
> 
> IT'S PERONA DUDES YES. I FUCKN LOVE PERONA.
> 
> HOPEFULLY I GIVE HER JUSTICE.


	6. Chapter 6: Perona

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here is the last chapter!
> 
> Whoo! I had a blast writing this! I'M SO PROUD OF MYSELF FOR ACTUALLY FINISHING IT IT'S AMAZING
> 
> Anywho, this chapter ended up being shorter than I expected it to be. I had a lot of stuff planned out but it kinda...took a different turn, i dunno. It came out a lot shorter than I was planning but I like how this chapter turned out quite a bit!
> 
> Anyways, it's late and I'm sleepy so if there are mistakes my bad I'll fix them when I get the time!

Luffy had a number of places on Sunny that he’d like to sit and relax at. 

Sure, he never sat still very often, or for very long, but he did have a number of preferred places to rest when he felt a bit tired from the days activities. 

There was the cool, earthy smelling spaces between Nami’s mikan trees, there was the top of the crows nest (not inside, literally the top), there was the grassy lawn at the deck of the ship, there was the kitchen (he loved being able to smell all the tasty food while he was having a nap) and there was, obviously, Sunny’s head as well. He loved it there because he was comfortably able to look across the vast ocean and watch for any sign of adventure coming their way. 

Sunny’s head was one of his favorite spots on the ship.

But, he still had a favorite place that even beat Sunny. 

And he was heading there now.

Humming not so quietly as he searched for his designated napping spot, he rubbed at one of his eyes and yawned.

Honestly, Luffy hadn’t been sleeping very well for the past few weeks. He hadn’t been letting it get in the way of his usual activities, but the constant tiredness at the back of his mind as starting to get pretty annoying. He didn’t want to bother the crew with it, but he knew that most, if not all of them, were suspecting already. 

Zoro had actually talked to him about it already.

Well, not so much talked. It was more like he dragged Luffy off to a few of his naps and he also took a few of Luffy’s night watches without a single word to him.

Luffy found that he slept better whenever these sort of things happened, so he never complained.

Luffy was in a sleepy daze as he walked around the Sunny, searching for his swordsman. It wasn’t long before a familiar snore reached his ears and made him perk up a bit, his legs moving faster to get him to Zoro more quickly.

His swordsman's name was on the tip of his tongue, and he already had his mouth open to call out to Zoro, but as he turned the corner to reach the back of the deck, he froze completely in shock when he saw that his favorite napping spot was already occupied.

A...slightly familiar pink haired girl was sitting there. 

Where was there you ask?

Zoro’s lap, that’s where.

Luffy’s mouth snapped shut, his normally cheerful face closing off and leaving him blank.

He’s...never come across this situation before.

Well, Chopper sometimes napped on Zoro’s lap, but it was Chopper! If Luffy wanted to nap too then he would just pick Chopper up and hug him before plopping down on Zoro’s lap himself. 

He didn’t really want to pick up and hug this girl though.

Luffy frowned, tilting his head and closing his eyes as he thought over his options. 

He could...go nap somewhere else?

Nonono, he really wanted to nap on Zoro’s lap today.

He could just not nap?

No, he was really sleepy!

Luffy’s face was already a bright red from thinking too much. His brain was frying! He wasn’t used to thinking like this, especially not when he was sleepy and just wanted to nap!

He should just throw the girl off!

…………………………………………….

Oh! He could just throw the girl off!

Luffy perked up and beamed, pleased at his own brilliance when he wasn’t even trying.

“Yosh!”

Luffy walked over to the sleeping pair, picking up the girl with the frilly dress from Zoro’s lap without a second thought and tossing her a few feet away as she started to stir awake. 

The indignant screech that pierced the air didn’t even make him blink. His tired mind didn’t even register the fact that he hadn’t heard the girls body fall to the ground. 

Luffy didn’t care at all that Zoro had been startled awake from the girls screech. He immediately plopped himself down on the now vacant lap and snuggled close to Zoro, getting comfortable.

He was so tired that he couldn’t even bring himself to move when his observation haki sensed an attack coming his way. His body tensed a bit out of habit, but it immediately relaxed when he remembered that Zoro was here with him.

Sure enough, the attack never made contact with him.

Luffy smiled a bit and didn’t bother staying awake any longer. His fingers curled into Zoro’s haramaki loosely before he conked out right there. 

\------------

Zoro wasn’t sure how to take the situation presented before him. An angry Perona was floating and screeching in front of him while Luffy was preparing himself for a nap on his lap.

Of course, he wasn’t shocked enough to not block one of Perona’s negative hollows from reaching Luffy.

In the blink of an eye, Zoro had wrapped the arm Luffy was leaning against around him and the other had whipped out Wado, immediately using his haki to slice Perona’s hollow in half and make it disappear. 

Zoro glared dangerously at Perona, his hold on Wado tightening whereas his hold around Luffy softened.

“Perona…” he spoke gruffly, his gaze not softening whatsoever, “...what do you think you’re doing?”

Perona stuck her nose up in the air, opening her umbrella and spinning it around slowly over her head. “Hmph! He threw me while I was sleeping!” She turned her eyes on Zoro, glaring back at him while puffing her cheeks out. “He threw me!” she shrieked in a high pitched tone. 

Zoro raised an eyebrow, not at all amused by Perona. He relaxed his stance however, putting Wado back in her scabbard and leaning back against the Sunny, being careful not to jostle Luffy too much.

“I was exploring islands and then I happened to see your ship here, so I thought I’d drop by for a visit, see how your dumb grass head was doing. But you were sleeping, not so surprisingly, and since I felt a bit tired myself I decided to settle down for a nap.” Here, she turned her eyes on Luffy’s sleeping form and glared, pointing at him angrily. “But then this one just picked me up from your lap and tossed me away! That was so not cute! I can’t believe you like this guy!”

Perona continued to rant, but Zoro just blocked her voice out. He’d been subjected to her yelling so much that he’s more or less grown immune to it now. 

Glancing down at Luffy, he frowned at the slight appearance of dark circles under his captain's eyes. Setting Wado aside, he lifted up his hand and stroked along the scar under Luffy’s eye, huffing gently in amusement at the quiet mumble of “meat” that slipped past Luffy’s lips.

Pulling his hand away, he shifted his left leg up in order to support Luffy better. Grunting at the still ranting Perona, he motioned her over and patted the space next to him. His eyes were already closed as he got ready to continue his own nap.

Perona paused in her ranting, debating the invitation over in her head. She was still tired...and believe it or not, she had...missed the idiot a little. 

Huffing, she closed up her umbrella and floated over to Zoro’s side, plopping herself down gently beside him and leaning into him.

A short nap would be good for all of them.

\----------

Luffy stirred awake, an uncomfortable throbbing coming from the wound covering his chest. He opened his eyes fully, blinking the sleep out of his eyes as he regained focus on his surroundings once more. 

Yawning, he reached a hand up and scratched halfheartedly at the scar on his chest, no longer feeling the phantom throbbing that was bugging him a few seconds earlier. There was...a faint memory of fire. A burning heat that had enveloped him. A dream that he couldn’t quite remember. 

Frowning, Luffy squinted his eyes and stared at nothing, struggling to remember what he had been dreaming about specifically.

A loud snore brought him out of his thoughts before he could get too deep into it however. Smiling, he lifted his head a bit to look up at Zoro’s sleeping face, a warmth filling his chest at the small bit of drool that was slipping down the corner of Zoro’s mouth. Laughing quietly, he lifted his hand to wipe it away, but the sound of someone mumbling directly behind him made him freeze.

Turning his head around in surprise, his eyes met the face of the girl he had tossed aside when he first came here to nap.

Oh, so that had actually happened.

Frowning, Luffy squinted at the girl leaning against Zoro’s shoulder.

He wasn’t sure exactly...why he was angry with her. If she was bad Zoro would have cut her to pieces by now. Zoro especially wouldn’t allow her this close to him if she was.

But Zoro was letting her this close.

She had even been in his lap and Zoro hadn’t done anything at all!

So...she was fine right?

But he didn’t like her being this close.

Wrinkling his nose, Luffy shook his head and turned back around, snuggling back up against Zoro’s chest and resting his head in the space between Zoro’s neck and shoulder.

He was still a bit tired, but now he was completely aware of the presence of that girl and it wouldn’t let him sleep!

Gritting his teeth, a vein started throbbing at his temple.

Making his decision, he hopped right out of Zoro’s lap, making said swordsman startle awake and stare at him in sleepy confusion.

While that was kind of adorable, Luffy didn’t pause in what he was doing. As soon as he was up and steady on his feet, he bent back down and picked up Zoro, ignoring his shouts, complaints, and threats.

With the swordsman thrown over his shoulder, Luffy clamped an arm down tightly around his waist to make sure he didn’t escape and he looked down at the now awake and surprised Perona.

Sticking his tongue out at her, he started walking away towards Sunny’s head, wanting to enjoy both of his favorite spots at the same time.

Before he was completely gone, he turned his head around to look at Perona one final time. While shaking Zoro’s still struggling body pointedly, he yelled in a possessive tone, “Zoro’s mine! You can’t have him!”

With a final harrumph, he turned and marched back towards the deck with his first mate on his shoulder. 

\--------------

Perona stared after the pair, not exactly sure how to take the show of possessiveness demonstrated before her.

It was both amusing and adorable.

The captains huffy attitude was so adorable it made her want to kidnap him and make him serve her!

The muscle heads failed ability to try and hide his embarrassment by yelling out threats to his captain was one of the most amusing things Perona had ever seen too!

Covering her mouth, she couldn’t help but snicker as the pair finally disappeared around a corner.

Fine, she’d give the little captain what he wanted and leave the two of them be.

Only until their nap was over though, she wanted to bug Zoro about this in front of the rest of his crew!

Smiling to herself, she leaned back against the ship and hummed, beginning to play with her stuffed bear.

Maybe she’d stay here for a while. See how many buttons she could push.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AND IT'S DONE
> 
> YAY
> 
> I HOPE YOU ENJOYED THIS MINI THING I MADE
> 
> LEAVE A COMMENT PLEASE AND TELL ME HOW YOU LIKED.
> 
> OR DIDN'T LIKE IT. FEEDBACK IS GREAT unless you're gunna be mean about it then please don't bother at all. If you hated this then great it wasn't your thing.
> 
> ANYWHO, Thanks so much for reading my spur of the moment decision to make this fic!
> 
> If you have any...i dunno, recs on what I should write next, then please go to my tumblr and chat me up about it.
> 
> thefujoshitorulethemall.tumblr.com 
> 
> hit me up yo


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